Wagering on the outcomes of sporting events (e.g., football games, basketball games, horse races, Jai alai), is a large and growing industry in many parts of the world. Recently, in the United States (US) the Supreme Court (i.e., “Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association”) struck down a 1992 federal law that effectively banned commercial sports betting in most states, opening the door to legalizing the estimated $150 billion in illegal wagers on professional and amateur sports that Americans make every year. With this ruling, bettors will no longer be forced into the black market to use offshore wagering operations or illicit bookies. Placing bets will be now typically done across the US, fueled and endorsed by the lawmakers and sports officials who opposed it for so long. A trip to Las Vegas to wager on March Madness or the Super Bowl could soon seem quaint.
This ruling, in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, is also probably a boon for media and data companies that have existing relationships with the major sports leagues. They include television networks like ESPN, which is likely to benefit from more fans having a more deeply vested interest in the action, ultimately resulting in higher ratings.
Thus, a nascent industry is emerging in the form of various sports betting. In the past, various types of betting products or systems have been developed for various types of sporting events. These include: parimutuel horse racing “tote boards” displaying if a particular horse will finish first (win), finish in the top two (place), or finish in the top three (show), or alternatively, various combination bets with multiple horses, such as an exacta bet (covering the top two horses in order) or a trifecta bet (covering the top three horses in order); football, basketball, or soccer moneyline, spread, or handicap bets; or various other futures like head-to-head, half betting, in-play betting; etc.
Aside from sports betting, electronic gaming machines such as slot machines, video poker machines, and keno machines are proliferating throughout casinos. In theory these machines feature low intimidation for novice players, although there are numerous new gaming themes that are either being installed in casinos or are in development. However, these types of electronic gaming machines typically share similar ergonomic interfaces and consequently the low intimidation feature for novice players is maintained despite the propagation of new gaming themes.
Consequently, the vast number of sport or event betting options offered coupled with the large number of sporting events and other gaming venues available at any given time is challenging for an experienced gambler much less a novice and accordingly can prove intimidating to anyone. When it is realized that these options will soon be available to areas of the US that have never had access to gambling on sporting events and other gaming venues before, the problem of intimidating consumers contemplating betting is compounded.
Some notable attempts have been made to elevate the problem of betting intimidation—e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,821,274; 9,355,519; 9,558,612; 9,697,683 (all “Lyons et. al”); and U.S. Pat. No. 9,666,021 (“Nguyen”). However, “Lyons et. al” in its various embodiments only teaches implementing Augmented Reality (AR) aids for Electronic Gaming Machines (“EGMs”—a.k.a. slot machines) by offering various gaming enticements (e.g., FIG. 22 of “Lyons et. al” '274 patent) as well as gaming options or information and is silent on other forms of gaming as well as providing updates for games in progress. These same basic concepts are taught in different embodiments in “Nguyen” with some additional ancillary information on the casino layout and various “hot spots.” However, like “Lyons et. al”, “Nguyen” is completely silent on providing aid to a consumer with any games in progress as well as any form of sports betting.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0065496 (“Ganger et. al”) discloses the creation of “fiducial markers” that can enable AR bonus play with electronic gaming machines, but as before is silent on providing help as games progress as well as live video sports betting. Finally, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0184352 (“Detlefsen et. al”) discloses enabling AR betting at sporting events triggered by signage as well as AR betting on electronic gaming machines, but again is silent on providing help as games progress. Additionally, “Detlefsen et. al” is largely silent on wager funding and cash out methodologies and completely silent on anonymous consumer wagering and cash-out capabilities.
Therefore, in order assist with wager and redemption of the vast number of betting options offered coupled with the large number of sporting events and other gaming venues available, it is highly desirable to develop automated valet systems that assist both novice and experienced consumers with real time wagering of sporting and other gaming events. These automated valet systems are game type independent, thereby offering the greatest utility to consumers and gaming institutions. Ideally, these automated valet systems include seamless funding and cash out sub-systems that support both known and anonymous consumers.